Monday, June 22, 2009

The Incredible Phenomenon of Ball Lightning

Until a short while ago, ball lightning was banished as fantasy by many in the scientific community, notwithstanding the pains to which some researchers have gone to try and recreate the stuff in the lab. Laboratory experiments using high voltages have produced effects that look similar to ball lightning as it is portrayed in reports – like luminous plasma balls hovering over water – but it is unclear whether they are in fact related to a naturally occurring phenomenon.